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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22653196">Acts of Service</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlingtodeath513/pseuds/fangirlingtodeath513'>fangirlingtodeath513</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Writers of Destiel Challenges [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Bakery, Anniversary, Bakery Shop Owner Dean Winchester, Doctor Sexy M.D. (Supernatural), First Dates, M/M, Movie Night, Social Worker Castiel (Supernatural), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 14:22:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,567</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22653196</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlingtodeath513/pseuds/fangirlingtodeath513</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester, co-owner of Torchwood Treats, is hopelessly in love with one of his customers. With some help from meddling friends and a common interest in Doctor Sexy, can Dean actually manage to ask Castiel on a date?</p><p>Or, 5 times Dean serves Castiel and 1 time he doesn't.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel/Dean Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Writers of Destiel Challenges [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1369456</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>202</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Promptus Exchangarama</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Acts of Service</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxystiel/gifts">galaxystiel</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Ayyy, ya girl's back with a Valentine's fic for the cutest lil bean ever, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxystiel/pseuds/galaxystiel">galaxystiel</a> :D</p><p>This fic was written as part of the <a href="https://writersofdestiel.tumblr.com/">Writers of Destiel</a> Valentine's fic exchange! If you guys write Destiel fic and haven't joined, you should for sure consider it, it's awesome :)</p><p>Huge thank you to the lovely <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/FPwoper/pseuds/FPwoper">fpwoper</a> for beta-reading this fic for me!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>1.</p><p> </p><p>Dean’s owned his own bakery for the last three years and, much to his relief, it’s been incredibly successful. He and Charlie had created an entire menu of geeky pastries and drinks, including some recreations of geeky foods. They’d assumed it would be a niche audience, but they have regulars that aren’t into anything geeky.</p><p> </p><p>Castiel might be his favorite regular. He doesn’t know much about geeky stuff but his enthusiasm about Dean’s baking is adorable and infectious. Anyone who’s in the shop during the time Castiel is there always seems happier in his presence. Dean knows the feeling. He could be having the worst morning of his life but the minute he looks up to find Castiel in Torchwood Treats, everything else seems insignificant. Today is no different. The bell on the door chimes and Dean looks up to find Castiel walking in, smiling brightly at Dean.</p><p> </p><p>“Morning, Cas. Your usual?”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel grins and nods. “Please. How is your brother doing with his finals?”</p><p> </p><p>Dean grins as he makes Cas’s drink—a hot butterbeer with whipped cream and cinnamon—and chuckles to himself. “He’s stressed, but I know he’ll be fine. Kid’s a genius. Besides, he’s clear to graduate, so it doesn’t really matter how he does on his finals.”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel hums and takes his drink from Dean, taking a sip and sighing happily. “That’s good. Congratulations to him.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean smiles and packages Castiel’s muffin for him. “How’s your brother doing? Kids giving him hell now that we’re so close to summer?”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel smirks. It’s a great look on him and Dean can’t help but stare for a moment. “His kids always give him hell. But yes, the approaching break from school exacerbates the issue.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean snorts. “I bet. Have a good day, Cas.” He passes his change across the counter, smiling as Castiel waves over his shoulder as he leaves.</p><p> </p><p>2.</p><p> </p><p>Every Saturday at lunchtime, Torchwood Treats holds an open D&amp;D campaign. It’s how he and Charlie met most of their friend group in the area. They haven’t had anyone new in a long time, so it’s surprising when the bell on the door chimes after everyone’s already arrived. Dean looks up and he can feel the grin forming on his own face when he sees Castiel. He looks nervous, which shouldn’t be as adorable as it is, frankly.</p><p> </p><p>“Cas!” Charlie grins, pulling up two chairs for Castiel and the brunette accompanying him. “C’mon in. Thought you didn’t do geeky things.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I don’t. I mentioned your D&amp;D sessions to Meg and she’s been looking for people to play with. I figured I’d tag along and observe, if that’s okay? I’ve never actually seen D&amp;D before.”</p><p> </p><p>Meg plops into the chair next to Charlie. “Hang on, can we pivot back to the ‘no geeky stuff’ thing? You’re the geekiest person I know when it comes to Doctor Sexy.”</p><p> </p><p>Cas glares at her as he takes the seat next to Dean. Dean raises his eyebrows with a grin. “You watch Doctor Sexy?”</p><p> </p><p>He glances at Dean, cheeks flushed a beautiful shade of pink. “Yes. It’s my favorite show.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean grins. “Me too, man! What did you think of that twist with Nurse Sampson last week?”</p><p> </p><p>Cas perks up when he realizes Dean isn’t joking, a soft smile on his lips. “I’d suspected it, mostly because of what Dr. Nally said a few episodes ago. I sort of wrote it off, though, because really, who would’ve believed that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Dude, right?” Dean’s grin widens impossibly and he shuffles his seat closer to Castiel’s. “So crazy. What about—”</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, why don’t you two go get a damn room? We’ve got a campaign to play,” Benny snarks with a roll of his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“Dean, why don’t you go get drinks for our guests while we read Meg in?” Charlie says, passing Meg a few different sheets of paper.</p><p> </p><p>Meg freezes, eyes narrowing in Dean’s direction. “Wait, <em> you’re </em> Dean? No way.”</p><p> </p><p>“Meg,” Cas hisses, an unreadable expression on his face. </p><p> </p><p>Dean raises his eyebrows but neither Meg nor Cas says anything, so he pushes his chair back. “Earl Grey, Cas?”</p><p> </p><p>“Please,” he replies with a small smile.</p><p> </p><p>“And for the lady?”</p><p> </p><p>Meg scoffs. “I am <em> not </em> a lady. I dunno, Cas says your butterbeer is good?”</p><p> </p><p>Dean hums and heads for the kitchen in the back. He returns a few minutes later and sets a pint glass in front of Meg and a cup and saucer in front of Castiel, along with a small bottle of honey.</p><p> </p><p>“Good god, he even knows how you take your tea? You two were practically made for each other,” Meg says with a shake of her head. Charlie and Benny snicker while Cas immediately turns bright red, focusing intensely on his tea.</p><p> </p><p>“He knows how I take my tea because I’ve ordered tea here before,” Cas mutters under his breath, though Dean can make out what he’s saying. “Now shut <em> up </em>,” he hisses, glaring at Meg.</p><p> </p><p>Charlie and Jo exchange a look and Kevin rolls his eyes. None of those are exactly out of the ordinary, but it’s kind of a weird time for it. Dean shrugs it off and grabs his notebook, glancing around the table. “Alright, we ready to continue?”</p><p> </p><p>3.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s that supposed to be?” Cas asks, head tilted to the side in an adorably puppy-like fashion. He’s staring at the cupcakes Dean had painstakingly been decorating all morning.</p><p> </p><p>“Hobbit Houses. From Lord of the Rings?”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel gives him a blank stare, so Dean chuckles and takes one out of the display case, showing it to him up close.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re these houses that some of the characters in Lord of the Rings live in. They’re basically little houses that are super nature-oriented. They make surprisingly cute cupcakes.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm.” Cas smiles and takes a sip of his butterbeer. “I think I’ll take one of those, too.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean hums and bags the cupcake with Cas’s muffin, sliding the bag across the counter. “We’ve got this courtyard out back with a big wall that we can project movies on. We’re gonna start doing movie nights in the summer on Saturdays. This week’s the first Lord of the Rings if you’re interested in seeing it?”</p><p> </p><p>Cas raises his eyebrows as he takes another sip of his drink. “Are you asking me to come to a movie night with you and your staff?”</p><p> </p><p>Dean snorts. “No, man. Well, I mean, yeah, actually. But it’s an open event. I’ve got a popcorn machine at home that I’m gonna bring and people can buy cupcakes and stuff, obviously. Two bucks a ticket and we’re donating it to the nonprofit youth theater on Main.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, in that case, I’d love to. You may have to explain the entire movie though.”</p><p><br/>
Dean grins, leaning against the counter. “I’m sure that could be arranged.”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel smiles brightly at him and nods, so Dean slides him a flyer for the movie night and wishes him a good day at work. He may or may not stare a little longer than he should, but there are no other customers in the store, so he lets himself look. Cas is an objectively attractive dude, of course, Dean would enjoy the view when he gets a chance.</p><p> </p><p>“Dude, I don’t get why you didn’t just invite him as a date,” Charlie says as she shakes her head and refreshes the stock in the display case. “You’re obviously head over heels for the guy, just ask him out already.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean scoffs. “I’m not head over heels for him, Charlie. He’s just… hot. Not my fault I have eyeballs and am susceptible to the wiles of hot men.”</p><p> </p><p>Charlie rolls her eyes and throws a hand towel at his face. “You’re both idiots and it’s painful to watch.”</p><p> </p><p>“Look,” Dean starts, idly cleaning off the counter while they have a spare moment to breathe. “He’s just a customer, okay? Even if I do like him, it doesn’t matter. He’s nice to everyone, it’s not like he singles me out or anything.”</p><p> </p><p>He’s been around Charlie long enough to know that the look she’s giving him means he’s just said something monumentally stupid. “Dude, are you kidding me? On the days you’re not here, it’s like he’s moping around. I hate to break it to you, but he comes here for you, not for your muffins.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean blinks at her. “He mopes around?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god,” she mutters, wiping her hands on her apron and heading into the back. “I can’t handle you anymore, that whole statement and that’s all you get from it.”</p><p> </p><p>“She’s right, brother.” Dean turns to find Benny leaning against the counter, smirking. Dean rolls his eyes and tosses the towel on the counter between them, huffing. </p><p> </p><p>“Look, just because he may or may not be coming here for me doesn’t mean it’s because he’s interested. Maybe he just enjoys my sparkling personality.”</p><p> </p><p>Benny stares at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. Dean glares at him for a moment before rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. “What’re you even doing here, man?”</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t come in for a couple’a cookies? ‘Cause I’m sidin’ with Charlie in teasin’ you about your boyfriend?”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s not my boyfriend,” Dean mutters petulantly, grabbing a bag and getting Benny’s cookies for him.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe he should be, man.” Benny doesn’t give him a chance to answer, he just holds up his bag as a thank you and heads out the door.</p><p> </p><p>Dean can’t shake what they’ve said for the rest of the week. Every time he sees Cas now, the little voice in the back of his mind gets louder. It’s been there for a couple of months now, whispering <em> what if </em> every time he looked at the man. Now it’s joined by Charlie and Benny’s voices, magnifying the original until it’s all he can think about the moment Cas walks into the store in the morning and the last thought he has before bed every night.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe he <em> should </em> do something about it. What could it hurt, right? Worst case scenario, Cas says no and Dean reigns in his emotions to keep it professional. So, when Charlie comes back from her break, Dean clears his throat and slips his hands in his pockets. “So what if, theoretically, I was actually considering asking Cas out? Would it be weird to do it at the movie?”</p><p> </p><p>Charlie barely contains her squeal of excitement, pulling Dean into a hug that’s surprisingly tight for someone so small. “Yes, thank god. It doesn’t matter where it is, Dean, I promise you. He’s gonna love it no matter what.” Dean can feel his cheeks heating as he hugs her back, shaking his head.</p><p> </p><p>“It doesn’t have to be such a big deal, y’know. If he says no, he says no, and if he says yes, awesome. Just… don’t get your hopes up, you may be wrong about him liking me.”</p><p> </p><p>Charlie rolls her eyes. “What is this, high school? He likes you, Dean, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”</p><p> </p><p>Despite Charlie’s reassurances, the minute Castiel walks through the door—with Meg, nonetheless—all his nerves return full force and it nearly knocks him to his knees. Still, Charlie’s right, he doesn’t have anything to worry about. With that thought in mind, Dean plasters a grin on his face and hands two tickets to Castiel. “Glad you could make it, man.”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel smiles shyly and hands Dean the money, passing one of the tickets to Meg. “Are you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, dude. This movie’s great.”</p><p> </p><p>Cas’s face seems to fall, though it’s smoothed out before Dean can figure out why. Meg clears her throat and steps away from Castiel. </p><p> </p><p>“Right, well I’m gonna go grab some snacks. Maybe find that cute redhead that was here last time. I’ll see you later, Cas.”</p><p> </p><p>They’re left in awkward silence as Meg heads deeper into the growing crowd, both desperately trying not to stare at the other. Eventually, Castiel holds up his ticket and thanks Dean quietly, disappearing into the crowd.</p><p> </p><p>That went well.</p><p> </p><p>“Dude, what happened?” Charlie half-whispers, though Dean’s sure the entire group of high school girls that just walked in heard her. They give the pair of them an odd look, so Dean takes their money with a smile and passes them their tickets.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing happened, okay? I chickened out,” he mutters, shoving the girls’ money in the lockbox. “It’s just… not the right time, alright? It’s fine.”</p><p> </p><p>Charlie looks like she wants to continue the argument but Meg picks that exact moment to pull her into a conversation, so Dean is spared the lecture he knows he’ll receive later.</p><p> </p><p>He tries not to think about Castiel again, but he finds his mind wandering back at every opportunity. By the time he starts the movie and adjusts the projector until the picture is perfect, Castiel is all he can think about. He tries to pick him out in the dark crowd to no avail, so he tucks tail and heads for the concession stand. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re not watching?”</p><p> </p><p>Dean almost drops the cupcakes he’s rearranging, spinning around to find Castiel leaning against the makeshift concession counter. “Oh, uh, kinda. I’m watching from back here. Charlie’s been… otherwise occupied, so I’m in charge of snacks.” He pauses and wipes some stray icing off his hand, clearing his throat. “Did you… want something?”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel blinks at him and glances at the popcorn machine. It only seems to dawn on him then that he looks like he’s trying to buy food. “Oh! No, apologies. I was going to ask if you’d like to join me since Meg appears to have found herself a date, but since you’re busy—”</p><p> </p><p>“No, hang on! I can get Benny to cover for me, he’s not really into Lord of the Rings anyway. One sec.” He leaves Castiel at the concession stand and picks his way through the crowd until he finds Benny there. Andrea isn’t there, much to Dean’s own relief, so he taps Benny on the shoulder and quietly whispers, “Cover concessions for me? Cas asked me to watch the movie with him.”</p><p> </p><p>Benny gives him a knowing smirk but stands and grabs his blanket, following Dean back to the other side of the courtyard. Dean grabs himself a bag of popcorn and a cupcake and follows Castiel to his spot on the courtyard lawn, grinning to himself when he sees that Castiel brought along a Dr. Sexy blanket. </p><p> </p><p>“Nice blanket.”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel grins. “Thank you,” he whispers back, settling next to Dean on the blanket.</p><p> </p><p>It’s the best date Dean’s ever been on in his life and he’s not even sure that it’s a date. Castiel’s sweet and witty and Dean doesn’t mind explaining everything to him in a quiet whisper as they watch the movie. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Cas starts, fiddling with his keys. “I watch Doctor Sexy as it airs, I thought maybe you’d like to join me?”</p><p> </p><p>Dean grins. “Hell yeah, dude, that’d be awesome. Just tell me where and what to bring.”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel smiles brightly and digs a scrap of paper out of his pocket, passing it to Dean. “Text me and we can figure everything out.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean blinks at the paper, chuckling softly. If Castiel’s been carrying this around, he’s either in the habit of carrying around papers with his phone number on them <em> or </em> Charlie was right and he was hoping Dean would ask for his number. Which he didn’t. <em> Way to disappoint, Winchester </em>. “Hey, so if I asked you to get dinner before the episode… would you be down for that? As a date?”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel’s answering grin is blindingly bright and it’s the cutest thing Dean’s ever seen in the world. He could die happy right now knowing that he caused that smile. “I’d love to.”</p><p> </p><p>4.</p><p> </p><p>“So, I brought a batch of cookies and—” Dean pulls the thermos from his bag with a grin, holding it out to Castiel. “A butterbeer, of course.”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel grins and leans up to give Dean a quick kiss. “Hello, Dean. Thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean sets his bag by the door and pulls him into a proper kiss, humming happily. “Happy six months, angel.”</p><p> </p><p>“I cannot believe it’s been six months already,” Cas muses, kissing Dean softly again before finally stepping back to let him into the apartment.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that good or bad?”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel chuckles. “Definitely good. Go sit, the episode’s almost on, I’m just going to grab the popcorn from the microwave and then I’ll be there.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean hums and heads for his favorite spot on Cas’s couch, curling up against the armrest. He sets the platter of cookies on the coffee table and cracks open the beer Cas brings him. “Thanks, babe. You ready for this episode? It’s supposed to be super wild.”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel hums, snuggling against Dean’s side and grabbing a cookie. “I hope so, the meta episodes are the most enjoyable.”</p><p> </p><p>They spend the night snacking on popcorn and homemade cookies, watching the season finale of Dr. Sexy. It’s the happiest Dean’s been in a long time if he’s being honest with himself, and he’s ridiculously pleased that Castiel is the reason for it. He’s everything Dean’s been looking for—kind, smart, funny, and so adorably enthusiastic when it comes to things he loves. </p><p> </p><p>It dawns on Dean then that he wants to be one of those things for Castiel. He wants Cas enthralled with him, he wants to hear himself spoken about the way Cas speaks about things he loves. They’ve never actually said that to each other and the overwhelming urge to tell Castiel nearly overpowers him, but he keeps his mouth tightly shut. He wants it to be a special moment, not just lounging on Castiel’s couch one Thursday night.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you thinking so deeply about?” Castiel asks, voice light with mirth and a small smile on his lips. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s nothing. Just thinking about us.”</p><p> </p><p>Cas raises an eyebrow as he shifts to look at Dean fully. “Us? What about us?”</p><p> </p><p>Dean shrugs. “Just that I l—really like you. A lot.”</p><p> </p><p>Cas keeps his eyebrow raised, looking thoroughly unconvinced, but eventually, he lets it go and returns his attention to the finale. Dean’s missed most of it at this point, but that’s fine. He’ll watch it later on his own, he’d much rather enjoy his time with Cas anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“I knew it!” Cas shouts, sitting up as it’s revealed that Dr. Sexy’s current girlfriend is the mystery doctor applying for the same job Dr. Sexy is applying for. Dean grins to himself, shaking his head at his boyfriend’s adorable enthusiasm. “I told you, Dean, look! It’s going to cause <em> so </em> much drama next season.”</p><p> </p><p>As Cas turns to him, he realizes that he doesn’t actually care about what the right time is. A random Thursday night when they’re just together is actually the perfect time for this, so he smiles to himself and pulls Cas into a soft kiss. “I love you,” he murmurs, chuckling as Cas’s eyes grow wide.</p><p> </p><p>“You… is that what you were thinking about so deeply before?”</p><p> </p><p>Dean smiles and shrugs. “Yeah. I thought I needed a better opportunity but now seemed like as good a time as any.”</p><p> </p><p>Cas grins and pulls Dean into an enthusiastic kiss that’s mostly just the two of them smiling like idiots. That’s fine by Dean, though, so he wraps an arm around his boyfriend and pulls him closer. </p><p> </p><p>“I love you too, Dean.”</p><p> </p><p>5.</p><p> </p><p>“Well if it isn’t my favorite customer,” Dean says with a grin, already gathering things for Cas’s afternoon tea. Castiel leans against the counter with a smile, though it doesn’t reach his eyes, so Dean abandons the tea and heads for the counter. “Hey, what’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel heaves a sigh. “Bad day at work. One of my kids confessed that they’re being abused at home. I reported it, of course, I just wish there was more I could do.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean frowns, stepping out from behind the counter and wrapping his boyfriend in a tight hug. Cas burrows into the embrace, arms winding their way around Dean’s waist. “That’s awful, Cas, I’m so sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel hums softly, face pressed to Dean’s neck as he inhales deeply. “This is helping, actually. I just don’t like feeling so helpless. I’m supposed to be teaching these kids how to get where they want in life, but how are they supposed to get there from these awful circumstances a lot of them grow up in?”</p><p> </p><p>Dean smiles and presses a kiss to the top of Cas’s head. “I did.”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel blinks up at him and Dean realizes he’s never actually gone in-depth about his childhood. It’s probably time, and it’d make Cas feel a bit better. Decision made, he presses a kiss to his boyfriend’s forehead and lets him go. “Let me get your tea and I’ll get Charlie to take over for me and we can talk, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” Castiel murmurs, a soft look in his eyes as he watches Dean step back behind the counter. He whips up Cas’s tea in only a couple of minutes, grabbing a coffee for himself and settling into a chair at their favorite table in the corner. “You had a bad childhood?” Castiel asks, gingerly sipping his hot tea.</p><p> </p><p>“Not badly abusive, no. My dad wasn’t the greatest parent for most of my childhood—he was drunk more often than not, he could hardly hold a job down, and he tended to take his anger out by yelling at me and Sammy. I took the worst of it, I tried to keep Sam out of it as much as I could.” He sips his coffee, shrugging. “That kinda shit messes with your brain, so the minute I turned 18, I signed up for culinary school and got the hell out of there. Sam ended up staying with family friends for his four years of high school, thank God.”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel frowns and reaches across the table to rest his hand over Dean’s, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m so sorry, Dean.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean smiles and brings Cas’s hand to his lips, kissing his knuckles. “It’s fine, angel. He’s sober now, and it pushed me to get out of there, it pushed <em> Sam </em> to get out of there. But it’s because we had a support system. Ellen and Bobby were always there for us, we could always go to them if we needed to. So, if you can’t do anything else, you can at least be this kid’s support system.”</p><p> </p><p>Castiel tilts his head, lips pursed. It’s the look Dean refers to as his ‘deep in thought’ look and it’s just as adorable now as it’s been every single time he’s seen it. “You’re right,” he finally says, grinning at Dean and lacing their fingers together. “Thank you, that makes me feel much better. I guess it was a good idea to come here instead of going home to wallow.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean laughs. “Well, you’re always welcome to come here and wallow, as long as you don’t scare my other customers away.”  </p><p> </p><p>6.</p><p> </p><p>They’ve been living together for almost a month now and it’s everything Dean dreamt it would be. Waking up next to Castiel is the single best part of the day, even if it is ridiculously early for both of them, with Cas off to school and Dean off to the bakery to prepare the foods for the morning rush. Still, they always manage to find a few minutes to just enjoy each other’s company, whether it’s over their morning coffee or just laying in bed soaking in the last few minutes of warmth before they have to head out to be functioning adults for the day.</p><p> </p><p>One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is that Castiel doesn’t cook. Even before they’d been living together, they’d always gotten takeout when they were hanging out at Castiel’s place because Castiel couldn’t cook to save his life. He’d tried once but he’d somehow managed to burn both the eggs and the bacon he’d been trying to cook, almost resulting in the smoke alarms in his apartment going off.</p><p> </p><p>So, when Dean walks into their apartment on Valentine’s day and smells the delectable scent of a perfectly cooked steak and something distinctly sweet, he’s a little concerned that he’s walked into the wrong apartment.</p><p> </p><p>“Cas?”</p><p> </p><p>His boyfriend’s head appears in the kitchen doorway and he grins widely at Dean, jogging the few steps down their entryway to pull Dean into a kiss. “Hello, Dean,” he murmurs, taking his hand and pulling him toward the kitchen. “I have a surprise.”</p><p> </p><p>Dean laces their fingers, chuckling as he lets Cas lead the way. “Yeah, I can smell it.” He’s about to ask where the food’s from when he sees their dining room table completely decked out with a fancy tablecloth, flickering candles, and two plates of what Dean can only describe as his dream dinner—a steak that looks absolutely perfect, a generous serving of mashed potatoes, and sauteed vegetables that don’t look even slightly burnt. “You… did all this?” he asks, trying to keep the astonishment from his voice. He doesn’t really think it works if Cas’s shy smile is anything to go by.</p><p> </p><p>“I took a cooking class,” Castiel explains, shrugging. “I wanted to do something special for you for Valentine’s day.” </p><p> </p><p>Dean grins and pulls Cas close, kissing him softly. “You’re amazing.”</p><p> </p><p>Cas flushes and clears his throat, but there’s a tiny smile on his lips. “Should we eat?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hell yeah,” Dean answers with an even wider grin, tugging Cas to the table. </p><p> </p><p>Dinner is awesome. Everything is cooked perfectly and Cas even surprises him with a heart-shaped cherry pie he’d spent weeks learning how to make with Charlie. Dean feels kind of bad that he hadn’t spent that much time on his gift to Cas, so when he finally excuses himself after their pie to go collect his gift, he’s more than a little nervous. He returns to their living room with the folder in hand, nervously clearing his throat as he hands it to Castiel. </p><p> </p><p>“So I didn’t spend nearly as much time on this as you did on mine, but I hope you like it anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>Cas pulls him onto the couch and snuggles against his side as he flips through the folder. He gets to the plane tickets and his eyes widen as he turns to look at Dean. “Rome? You got us a trip to Italy?”</p><p> </p><p>Dean nods, smiling softly. “You’ve been talking about how much you want to go, and with me hiring more people to help me at the bakery, I’ll actually be able to take a vacation, so I figured why not?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because you hate flying on planes,” Cas answers, setting the folder aside and climbing into Dean’s lap. “Dean, we really don’t have to go.”</p><p> </p><p>“I want to,” Dean assures him with a shy smile, returning the kiss Castiel gives him. “‘Sides, as long as I’ve got you there, I’ll make it through the flight.” He grimaces. “Probably.” </p><p> </p><p>Castiel grins and hugs him tightly. “Thank you, Dean. It’s perfect. I can’t wait.”</p><p> </p><p>The rest of their Valentine’s is spent on the couch, snuggled under their favorite fluffy blanket, their TV long forgotten in the background in favor of getting lost in each other.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Find <strong>me</strong> on <a href="https://fangirlingtodeath513.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> and <a href="https://www.pillowfort.io/fangirlingtodeath513">Pillowfort</a><br/><br/><strong>Please don’t post my works anywhere without my permission.</strong></p></blockquote></div></div>
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